Stites & Harbison, PLLC

"Over and over again courts have said that there is nothing sinister in so arranging one's affairs as to keep taxes as low as possible. [F]or nobody owes any public duty to pay more than the law demands: taxes are enforced exactions, not voluntary contributions."

--Judge Learned Hand in the Dissenting Opinion to Commissioner of Internal Revenue v. Newman, 159 F.2d 848 (2d Cir. 1947).

The Stites & Harbison Trusts & Estate Planning Group enthusiastically agrees with Judge Hand's opinion above and work judiciously to help clients minimize their tax burdens.

Our lawyers routinely prepare the following:

• wills

• living trusts

• irrevocable trust agreements

• marital deduction trusts

• generation-skipping trusts

• qualified personal residence trusts

• GRATs and GRUTs

• trusts for minors

• powers of attorney

• advance medical directives

We offer tax counsel for:

• minimizing current income taxes

• future inheritance and estate taxes and taxes on retirement

• handling of income tax matters at death

• planning to avoid the generation-skipping tax

• exercising powers of appointment

• beneficiary and distribution decisions under qualified retirement plans and IRAs

We also provide to our clients special assets services such as estate and trust administration services:

• consultation and counsel to trust companies and individual fiduciaries

• representation of charitable and non-profit organizations

• the management and disposition of valuable assets

• valuation of private businesses

• planning of beneficial interests under trusts

• advice on the use of family limited partnerships and limited liability companies to maximize transfer tax savings for business and family assets

• planning for foreign holdings

We also render advice with respect to charitable gifts of tangible property and appreciated securities and on "remainder" and "lead" gifts.

Service Group Leader:

• J. David Porter
  email: dporter@stites.com